Refrigerating apparatus



May 29, 1962 J. w. JACOBS ET AL REFRIGERATING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 26, 1961 INVENTORS James W Jacobs By Edward C. Simmons The/r Afforney May 29, 1962 J. w. JACOBS ETAL REFRIGERATING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 26, 1961 INVEN TORS -James W. Jacobs y Edward 0. Simmons Their Afforney United States Patent 3,036,442 REFRIGERATHWG APPARATUS James W. Jacobs and Edward C. Simmons, Dayton, Ohio, assignors to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich, a corporation of Delaware Filed Jan. 26, 1961, Ser. No. 85,026 3 Claims. (Cl. 62344) This invention pertains to refrigerating apparatus and especially to an ice maker provided in an air-cooled frostfree below-freezing compartment of a household refrigerator.

In air-cooled frost-free below-freezing compartments, it is difiicult to provide a satisfactory insulation of an ice maker since the evaporator must be located outside the below-freezing compartment to keep it frost-free. Any special arrangement to provide direct heat conduction for the ice maker from the evaporator would require a specially designed refrigerator for accommodating it. Since only a small proportion of refrigerators are sold with ice makers, production problems and costs would make unfeasible the manufacture of such a special model.

It is an object of this invention to provide a simple inexpensive ice-making arrangement for air-cooled frostfree below-freezing compartments of a household refrigerator with a minimum of differences from the corresponding non-ice maker equipped household refrigerators.

It is another object of this invention to provide a simple eifective arrangement for cooling an ice maker located in the below-freezing compartment of a frost-free household refrigerator by incorporating the ice-making cell in the cold air circulating system for the compartment.

These and other objects are attained in the form shown in the drawings in which air is drawn from the belowfreezing compartment through an opening at the front of its false bottom into the evaporator compartment beneath containing the evaporator which is maintained at below 0 F. temperatures. A centrifugal fan draws the cold air from the rear of the evaporator compartment and first discharges it over a finned ice-freezing cell located in the discharge duct of the air circulating fan. Water from a suitable supply source is forced through the tubular ice-freezing cell and cooled by the cold air flowing over the fins thereof. The frozen ice is extruded from the end of the ice-freezing cell and is forced into engagement with a camming surface which breaks off the extruded ice in the form of sticks. These ice sticks then slide down a chute into a suitable ice-collecting receptacle provided in the below-freezing compartment. Since this air-cooling arrangement provides air which is below the saturation point, the pieces of ice are dried as they issue from the freezing cell before they are transferred to the receptacle. Consequently, they do not freeze together in the receptacle.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front vertical sectional view of a belowfreezing compartment of a frost-free household refrigerator embodying one form of ice maker;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary right sectional view taken substantially along the lines 2-12 of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view of the freezing compartment and ice maker taken substantially along the lines 33 of FIGURES 1 and 2.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a belowfreezing compartment 20 enclosed in insulated walls 22 of a two-compartment household refrigerator. The compartment 20 has a false bottom wall 24 which rests upon the upper edges of a vertically-finned horizontally-positioned refrigerant evaporator 26 which is normally maintained at temperatures of about 0 F. The evaporator 26 rests upon the drain pan 2.7. For cooling the compartment 20, air is drawn downwardly over the front edge 28 of the false bottom wall 24 and rearwardly through the evaporator compartment 30 beneath the false bottom wall 24 containing the evaporator 26. Adjacent the rear wall 32, there is provided an opening 34 extending transversely in the rear of the false bottom wall 24 which connects with an inlet duct 36 connecting with the inlet opening 38 providing communication with the interior of the centrifugal fan 40 driven by the fan motor 42. It has been customary for this centrifugal fan 40 to discharge the cold air back into the below-freezing compartment 20.

According to this invention, the discharge scroll 44 of the fan connects with an upwardly-extending discharge duct 46 which surrounds a vertically-arranged ice-freezing cell 48 provided with integral fins 50. Preferably, the ice-freezing ce1l48 and its integral fins 50 are made of cast or extruded aluminum. The fins extending toward the sides are tapered with the large portion at the top to concentrate the cooling at the top. An ornamental cover 47 encloses the inlet duct 36, the discharge scroll 44, and the discharge duct 46, preventing any deposit of frost thereon. The ice-freezingcell 48 is supplied with water to be frozen from a supply source 52 connecting, with the inlet of a pump 54 driven by an electric motor 56, and pump 54 discharges the water under pressure through the conduit 58 connected by the fitting 6t) with the bottom of the ice-freezing cell 48. Connected in series with the pump motor 56 is a low-pressure snap-acting switch 62 which opens when the delivered pressure in the conduit 58 is low and a high-pressure switch 64 responsive to the pressure in the conduit 58 for opening the circuit 66 of the motor 56 whenever there is excessive delivery pressure within the conduit 58.

The air flowing through the duct 46 surrounding the ice-freezing cell 48 and the fins 50 is sufficient to freeze the water in the upper portion of cell 48. The pressure of the water in the conduit 58, produced by the pump 54 and the motor 56, is suflicient to force the ice out upwardly in stick form from the top of the ice-freezing cell 48. At the top of the ice-freezing cell 48, there is provided a combined cam and chute 68. When the ice 51 issues from the freezing cell 48 a sufficient distance, it will engage the cam surface of the combined cam and delivery chute 68 to break off a stick or piece of ice to cause it to topple over and slide down the chute into the ice container 7!) located beneath the chute as illustrated in FIGURE 3. The air issues from the top of the duct 46 from surrounding the freezing cell 48 and returns to the below-freezing compartment 20 sufficiently cold to maintain this compartment 20 at the desired temperatures. This air issuing from the top of the duct 46 also dries the ice as it issues from the freezing cell 48 before it slides down the chute 68. The evaporator 26 is provided with sufficient capacity to cool the circulating air sufiiciently to both freeze the ice in the cell 48 and to maintain the interior of the compartment 20 at desired below-freezing temperatures. The cold dry air in the compartment 20 prevents the pieces of ice in the ice container 7 0 from freezing together.

While the embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A refrigerator including an insulated cabinet containing an insulated storage compartment, a refrigerant evaporating means located outside said compartment, means for normally maintaining said evaporating means at temperatures substantially below water freezing temperatures, duct means enclosing said, evaporating means having an air inlet and an air outlet connected to said storage compartment, fan means associated with said duct means for forcibly circulating air from said air inlet through said duct means in heat transfer with said evapo rating means to said outlet, a tubular freezing cell located in said compartment having a liquid inlet in one portion and an outlet in a second portion from which emerges the frozen liquid, said cell being provided With external air contacting fins, said duct means having a portion adjacent its outlet enclosing a major portion of said; fins and said cell for conducting cold air in heat transfer with said cell and fins for freezing a liquid in said cell prior to discharging the cold air from its outlet into the storage compartment.

2. A refrigerator including an insulated cabinet containing an insulated storage compartment, a refrigerant evaporating means located outside said compartment, means for normally maintaining said evaporating means at temperatures substantially below water freezing temperatures, duct means enclosing said evaporating means having an air inlet and an air outlet connected to "said storage compartment, fan means associated with said duct means for forcibly circulating air from said air inlet through said duct means in heat transfer with said evaporating means to said outlet, a tubular freezing cell located in said compartment having a liquid inlet in one portion and an outlet in a second portion from which emerges the frozen liquid, said cell being provided with external air contacting fins, said duct means having a portion adjacent its outlet enclosing a major portion of said fins and said cell for conducting cold air in heat said cell prior to discharging the cold air from its outlet.

into the storage compartment, said outlet of said duct means extending in the direction of the outlet of said cell for directing the cold air onto the frozen liquid as it emerges from said cell to dry the frozen liquid.

3. A refrigerator including an insulated cabinet containing an insulated storage compartment, a refrigerant evaporating means located outside said compartment, means for normally maintaining said evaporating means at temperatures substantially below water freezing temperatures, duct means enclosing said evaporating means having an air inlet and an air outlet connected to said storage compartment, fan means associated With said duct means for forcibly circulating air from said air inlet through said duct means in heat transfer with said evapo rating means to said outlet, a tubular freezing cell located in said compartment having a liquid inlet in one portion and an outlet in a second portion from which emerges the frozen liquid, said cell being provided with external air contacting fins, said fins being provided with a greater air contacting area adjacent said outlet of said cell, said duct means having a portion adjacent its outlet enclosing a major portion of said fins and said cell for conducting cold air in heat transfer with said cell and fins for freezing a liquid in said cell prior to discharging the cold air from its outlet into the storage compartment.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,487,408 Askin Nov. 8, 1949 2,597,008 Lee May 20, 1952 2,757,518 Schofield i Aug. 7, 1956 2,970,453 -Harle Feb. 7, 1961 

